Benefit 'They're Real!' Mascara Review

Benefit often has a lot of products I'd like to give a go, but are just out of my budget at the moment. Luckily for me, my mum recently bought the They're Real! mascara and didn't get along with it (she's quite sensitive to different products and brands), so gave it to me. I hadn't previously looked into the product or heard anything about it really so I was excited to give it a go.

They're Real! claims to lengthen, curl, volumize, lift and separate lashes, and I'd have to agree for the most part. I didn't know anything about the look this mascara was meant to achieve when I tried it for the first few days (the outer packaging had been thrown away before I had a chance to look), but I was impressed with the effect.

I was dubious about the wand when I looked at it, as I'm not a big fan of plastic wands generally, but I actually liked it. It meant that you were able to apply one coat and have defined but more understated lashes, or build up more volume with more coats, which is sometimes hard to do with bristles when you have less control over how much product is on the wand. Also, an aim of this mascara is to separate, which I always find plastic wands to be better at. However, I did find the more coats were applied, the less separated the lashes looked, and they became a bit more clumped together.

I did feel my lashes were lifted and slightly curled with this mascara. I don't tend to use an eyelash curler for everyday makeup, and am yet to try this mascara with a curler, but I find it works by itself to add a nice effect. I'm not sure I'd call it a curled effect, but it definitely lifted the lashes and I felt like it really made my eyes pop. It also worked great with one coat on my lower lashes as it defined them without making them look spidery.

As for it's lengthening effect, I was really impressed. My eyelashes definitely appeared longer to me. I think this product has the tiny hairs or fibres in it that a lot of lengthening mascaras have these days, and I find work a treat. I also find that the formula makes my lashes feel less dry and hard than some volumizing mascaras.

I know this formula is not waterproof, and I don't believe a waterproof version is available at the moment. I tend to get smudge marks on my lids with most mascaras I wear within a couple of hours, particularly non-waterproof ones, but They're Real! left no marks whatsoever, even after a day of wear, which was fantastic. However, if you live in the UK you'll know that we haven't really had any hot weather to test how it would last in those circumstances.

A downside of this product is that it is currently only available in black, so if you're fairer haired or are just not a fan of black mascaras, then this isn't for you.

Although I did really like this mascara, I wouldn't buy it myself at £18.50. I have found mascaras I prefer or that are nearly as good on the high street for under £10, so realistically I'm not sure it's worth it's price tag.

xxx

Benefit They're Real! Mascara - £18.50 - http://www.boots.com/en/benefit-theyre-real-mascara_1231677/